Airports and airlines called on the European Commission and EU Member States to immediately introduce additional flexibility in the operation of the Schengen Entry Exit System (EES), as the first day of full operations during Easter was marked by passenger disruptions, delays and missed flights.
ACI Europe and Airlines for Europe (A4E) have for weeks cautioned about the EES operational rollout challenges. On this first day of full operations, these major concerns are now a reality.
The European Commission highlighted in a communication that registering a traveler takes on average only 70 seconds when the EES is functioning at full capacity. However, initial reports from a number of airports and airlines across the Schengen area confirm that the mandatory registration of all third-country nationals as of 31 March – combined with the end of the possibility to fully suspend the system effective, is now resulting in:
- Passenger waiting times of 2 to 3 hours at airport border control during peak travel periods. These delays are occurring despite border authorities making extensive use of partial suspension measures, which allow biometrics data not to be captured.
- Significant disruption to flight operations, with passengers missing flights and delays due to prolonged border processing times. For instance, a flight to the UK today was missing 51 passengers at departure. Another flight had zero passengers on board at gate closing time, and 90 minutes later, 12 passengers were yet to reach the gate.
